Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to reveal the influence of dimples on the tribological properties of the “washers-cage-rollers” system of rolling element bearing (REB) under starved lubrication. Design/methodology/approach: A fiber laser marking system was used to prepare dimples patterns on the raceways of the shaft washers of cylindrical roller thrust bearings (CRTBs). The friction and wear properties of dimples textured CRTBs with different diameter of dimples (200 µm, 250 µm, 300 µm) and depth of dimples (4 µm, 8 µm, 12 µm) were researched through a vertical universal wear test rig using a customized tribo-pair under starved lubrication. The surface stresses and the influence mechanism of dimple units on the tribological behavior of REBs were also compared and discussed. Findings: Although the surface stresses on the raceways of dimples textured bearings are significantly higher than that of the smooth group, the coefficients of friction and wear losses of them are all reduced under starved lubrication. When the effective volume of dimples is between 1.13 and 2.25 and the depth of dimples is smaller than 12 µm, the tribological properties of dimples textured CRTBs are significantly improved. In this work, when the diameter of dimples is 250 µm, and the depth of dimples is 8 µm, the textured bearings can provide the excellent friction-reduction ability and outstanding wear resistance. Originality/value: This work is a valuable reference for the raceway design and optimization of REBs.

Surface texturing has been proven to be an effective method to improve the lubrication characteristics and tribological behavior of tribo-pairs under various operating conditions. Inspired by the unique Swiss cheese-like leaves of Monstera riedrichsthalii, eight bionic texture patterns were introduced. The influence of vein features, such as costal-vein angles (45°, 60°), vein-symmetry (symmetric, asymmetric), and elliptic holes, on the tribological and vibration characteristics of rolling bearings was investigated under starved lubrication, through wear test rig and time-frequency domain vibration signal analysis. The results show that the average coefficients of friction and wear losses of the Monstera riedrichsthalii bionic-textured groups are generally lower than those of the smooth reference. The amplitudes and parameters (i.e. peak value, root mean square, crest factor) of the time-domain vibration signals of textured groups are all greater than those of smooth one in the early stages, but the vibration parameters of most textured groups are lower than those of smooth bearings in the later stages, especially those groups with elliptic holes. The amplitudes and power spectral density curves of the frequency-domain vibration signals exhibit similar variation to the time-domain signals. Compared to the smooth reference, the Monstera riedrichsthalii bionic-textured group with a combination of 45° secondary-vein angle, asymmetry and elliptic holes can provide excellent tribological and vibration performance. Its well-lubricating period, average coefficient of friction and mass loss can be effectively prolonged or reduced by 37.4%, 7.3%, and 43.9%, respectively.

To enhance the sliding tribological performance between PTFE and 40#steel (AISI 1040) under full film lubrication conditions, laser surface texturing (LST) technology was employed to prepare micro-dimples on the contact surfaces of 40# steel discs. The Box–Behnken design response surface methodology (BBD-RSM) was applied to optimize the micro-dimple parameters. Coefficients of friction (COFs), wear losses and worn contact surfaces of the PTFE–40# steel tribo-pairs were researched through repeated wear tests, as lubricated with sufficient anti-wear hydraulic oil. The influencing mechanism of micro-dimples on the tribological behavior of tribo-pairs was also discussed. The results proved that micro-dimples can significantly improve the tribological properties of PTFE–40#steel tribo-pairs. The deviation between the final obtained average COF and the prediction by the BBD-RSM regression model was only 0.0023. Following optimization, the average COF of the PTFE–40# steel tribo-pair was reduced by 39.34% compared to the smooth reference. The wear losses of the PTFE ring and 40# steel disc decreased by 91.8% and 30.3%, respectively. This study would offer a valuable reference for the optimal design of key seals used in hydraulic cylinders.

To compare them with PTFE-40# steel tribo-pairs, the tribological properties of textured PEEK-40# (AISI 1040) steel friction pairs were researched under full-film lubrication conditions by manufacturing micro-dimples with different dimensions on the contact surfaces of 1040 steel discs using laser surface texturing (LST). After repeated tribological tests, the coefficients of friction (COFs), wear losses, and wear morphologies of the PEEK-1040 steel friction pairs were measured and analyzed. The results show that micro-dimples do not significantly reduce the average COFs of PEEK-1040 steel friction pairs when lubricated with a sufficient amount of hydraulic oil, but they do reduce the wear losses of most groups. When the dimple diameter was 250 μm, the dimple depth was 5 μm, the area ratio was 6.6%, and the mass loss of the 1040 steel disc was reduced by 90% compared to the smooth reference. In comparison to the behavior of the PTFE-1040 steel tribo-pairs, PEEK-1040 steel friction pairs can provide better tribological performance, whether smooth or dimple-textured. This study offers important insights for the design of seals in machinery.